Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson

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🔥 Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson — 3⭐ out of 5⭐ | Murder, Rosaries & Bad Decisions in the Big Easy

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5)

⚠️ Trigger Warnings

  • Serial murder

  • Strangulation

  • Sex workers as victims

  • Religious extremism

  • Gaslighting

  • Sexual abuse (off-page, discussed)

  • Suicide

  • Stalking & home invasion

  • Violence against women

🚨 Spoiler Warning

This review contains FULL SPOILERS, including the killer’s identity and the ending. If you’re spoiler-averse, turn back now. If not—welcome to the swamp. 🐊😈

📚 Book Overview

Hot Blooded is the first book in Lisa Jackson’s New Orleans suspense series, originally published in 2001. It blends serial killer thriller, romantic suspense, and true-crime vibes, all set against the sultry, chaotic backdrop of New Orleans.

And listen—this book does not ease you in gently.

🔪 Opening Hook: Murder, Midnight, and a Creepy Caller

The book kicks off fast with a prostitute strangled in a French Quarter hotel room. Already grim. But then—because that’s not enough—our killer calls into a live midnight radio show.

Meet Dr. Samantha Leeds, a radio psychologist hosting Midnight Confessions, where callers bare their souls after dark. One caller, calling himself “Father John,” isn’t looking for advice—he’s announcing murder.

Cool. Cool cool cool. 😬

🎙️ Meet Samantha Leeds (Smart on Paper, Questionable in Practice)

Samantha is introduced as:

  • Highly educated

  • Emotionally intuitive

  • Professionally accomplished

  • A woman with a complicated past

But unfortunately… the decision-making skills are not matching the résumé.

Despite being stalked by a man who:

  • Knows her routines

  • Leaves mutilated photos

  • Is clearly escalating

Samantha consistently underreacts, overtrusts, and wanders into danger like it’s her side hustle. 😩

🚔 The Investigation: Rosaries, Red Wigs & Ritual Murder

Detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya investigate a string of murders involving sex workers:

  • Victims are strangled with a rosary

  • Bodies posed in prayer

  • A mutilated $100 bill left behind (Ben Franklin’s eyes blacked out)

  • Victims are forced to wear red wigs and resemble Samantha

It becomes horrifyingly clear:
👉 The killer is obsessed with Samantha and listens to her show during the murders.

🧠 The Past Comes Knocking (LOUDLY)

The case drags up a tragedy from Samantha’s past in Houston:

  • A pregnant teen, Annie Seger, died by suicide after calling Samantha’s old radio show years earlier.

  • Or… did she?

Enter Ty Wheeler, Samantha’s new neighbor:

  • Former Houston detective

  • Annie’s cousin

  • Initially lies to Samantha while researching her for a book (Death of a Cheerleader)

Yes, he lies.
Yes, they still hook up.
Yes, this book is from 2001. 😬

😵‍💫 Gaslighting Side Plot: Because Why Not

As if one serial killer wasn’t enough:

  • Samantha’s assistant Melanie Davis and her boyfriend gaslight Samantha

  • They manipulate her calls, steal her work, and try to sabotage her career

  • Melanie even fakes a call from “Annie” to destabilize her mentally

Plot twist within a plot twist:
👉 Melanie is eventually murdered by her own boyfriend when she becomes inconvenient.

This book truly said: Everyone gets trauma. 🎁

😱 The Killer Revealed

The true “Father John” is:

  • Kent Seger, Annie’s brother

  • Deeply mentally unstable

  • The person who sexually abused Annie

  • Obsessed with sin, punishment, and “sacrifice”

He plans to make Samantha his final offering.

🐊 Final Act: Trapdoors, Bayou Chaos & Survival

Kent:

  • Uses a forgotten trapdoor under Samantha’s stairs (because OF COURSE)

  • Kidnaps her

  • Takes her to a remote bayou cabin

  • Plans to kill her while playing recordings of her own voice (😬😬😬)

Samantha fights back—hard:

  • Bites his face

  • Escapes into the swamp

  • Is rescued when police arrive

  • Kent is shot by a sniper and falls into the swamp

  • His body is never recovered

You know what that means. 👀

🧩 Epilogue: Not All Loose Ends Are Tied

  • Samantha decides to stay in New Orleans with Ty ❤️

  • The Rosary Killer case is technically closed

  • BUT Detective Bentz realizes:

👉 Another serial killer is still active in the city

Classic thriller mic drop. 🎤

🤔 Final Thoughts

What worked:

  • Fast start

  • Creepy concept

  • Great New Orleans atmosphere

  • Enough twists to stay entertained

What didn’t:

  • Repetitive writing

  • Samantha’s frustrating lack of self-preservation

  • Too many underdeveloped side characters

Still, I was entertained enough to keep going in the series—and honestly, that says something.

📖 If You Liked This, Try These

  • Cold Blooded by Lisa Jackson (Book 2 in the series)

  • The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

  • The Whisper Man by Alex North

  • Final Girls by Riley Sager

  • Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson

💬 Bottom line:
A messy, creepy, very early-2000s thriller with a great premise and uneven execution—but if you like radio-show killers, religious lunatics, and bayou chaos, this might be your kind of ride. 😈📻🐊

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